Microsoft CTO touts BlackBerry, iPod

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.com.com/2100-1041-5108040.html' target='_blank'>http://news.com.com/2100-1041-5108040.html</a><br /><br /></div>"Microsoft's chief technology officer touted the Blackberry e-mail device and Apple Computer's iPod in front of an audience of information technology directors and developers. In addition to owning a Blackberry and loving the iPod, David Vaskevitch said he always carries a digital camera. But he didn't mention using one of Microsoft's own Pocket PC devices. <br /><br />Vaskevitch, who reports directly to company Chairman Bill Gates and is responsible for developing a strategy and architecture for future Microsoft platforms, was speaking for a discussion panel on wireless devices at the Salesforce.com user and developer conference in San Francisco on Tuesday. According to Vaskevitch, he carries an Apple iPod, Research in Motion's BlackBerry device and a digital camera when travelling, because each device is tailored to a specific job and does that job very well. The comments raised speculation among his audience that Microsoft may have an eye on developing more specific devices."<br /><br />This article left a bad taste in my mouth. :? If the CTO of Microsoft won't use a Microsoft OS-based product to listen to music or get his email, who will? Microsoft has this concept called "dog food" where they use their own software internally for everything, including betas of operating systems, office apps, and Exchange servers. They have a belief, and rightly so, that the only way they can make great products is to "eat their own dog food" - if it tastes bad to them, it will taste just as bad to the customer. I've always thought this was a great concept, because it forced them to look at their own products and want to make them better.<br /><br />So why doesn't this extend to hardware? Why doesn't the CTO of Microsoft "dog food" his own OS to see how it could be made better for digital audio? And why doesn't he use a Windows Mobile-based device for getting his email, so he can see how that experience could be made better?

[William Yeung]

Time to prepare to switch to a Linux device- they always eat their own dog food and swear their career/glory with it :P no wonder Linux is doing better.

Be serious, uptill now Windows Mobile device's quality are far too fragile in terms of software implementation, lets accept the truth- out of the box Palm is doing far way better on a reliable PDA.

[Jason Dunn]

Time to prepare to switch to a Linux device- they always eat their own dog food and swear their career/glory with it :P no wonder Linux is doing better.

Be serious, uptill now Windows Mobile device's quality are far too fragile in terms of software implementation, lets accept the truth- out of the box Palm is doing far way better on a reliable PDA.

Umm..no offense intended William, but what planet do you live on? :lol: Linux, doing well? I don't know a single person (in real life, not online) that's using Linux for their desktop. It's going to overtake Apple and become the #2 consumer OS, but that's not saying much, is it?

And regarding Palm, I'd certainly contend the statement that the Palm is a more functional PDA out of the box. I'd argue that the Pocket PC is a much better match for an Exchange-based company like Microsoft.

[Cortex]

but it is saying something when this guy and bill g himself both admit they dont use pocket pc's....

clearly they have their hearts in microsoft mobile technology....

[Jason Dunn]

but it is saying something when this guy and bill g himself both admit they dont use pocket pc's....

Indeed, it is saying something - and it's not saying something that's good... :(

[whydidnt]

Be serious, uptill now Windows Mobile device's quality are far too fragile in terms of software implementation, lets accept the truth- out of the box Palm is doing far way better on a reliable PDA.

As someone who uses a Palm as much or more than a PPC these days, I have tosay thisq statement is completly inaccurate. In my day to day usage my 2215 has been more stable than my UX50.

I think the irony with MS is MIcrosft's draconian decisions prevent many of the things I assume he likes from becoming a part of PPC,etc. We didnt have keyboards until recently because MS wouldn't allow them. I bet that's one of the reasons he loves his blackberry.

The IPOD plays his MP3s, but not MS own WMA. iTunes has proven that reasonable DRM will be accepted. Every DRM attempt MS puts forward os stricter and more confusing than the last. No wonder he likes the IPod better.

It just seems (once again) that MS is showing its true colors in relation to the PPC platform. It's no wonder we havent seen any change in the end user experience in several years!

Whydidnt

[AhuhX]

but it is saying something when this guy and bill g himself both admit they dont use pocket pc's....

clearly they have their hearts in microsoft mobile technology....

Bill G's heart is in Tablet PC. I am sure he secretly loaths the success PPC has had and thinks we are all mad for not using *his* Tablet PC's instead. :D

As for dog food... it sort of helps to know what you are serving up in the first place!

http://www.winnetmag.com/windowspaulthurrott/Article/ArticleID/40871/windowspaulthurrott_40871.html

"Gates's keynote address concentrated heavily on technologies we've already seen, albeit with new names in some cases--names that Gates often got wrong...Gates said that SmartScreen will also ship in the next version of Microsoft Exchange Server, due in a few months, but the technology will actually ship in an add-on for the current Exchange version. He discussed the next Tablet PC OS, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2004, but declined to mention its name. He misidentified Office 2003 as Office XP. And so on."

I think that's about indicative of where MS execs are at...

[SandersP]

IMO Microsoft is in ADD phase, trying to move beyond desktop but lack imagination what to do next, so they just take the most popular gadget out there and start attacking on the category. Ipod, digicam, handphone, car stero, watches. bah... boring.

Here is my question, why can't anybody make PPC with universal connector and small hardrive sledge. Isn't that what Ipod is? It might be little clunky, but a 4155 + a thin 5-10GB hardrive sledge couldn't be that much chunkier than Ipod.

Same with Digicam. why not let those company do whatever form factor they feel like making, instead of QVGA slab a Dpad and 4 buttons? What's wrong with a digital camera plus pocket PC?

Somebody ought to slap around those people in redmond research office a little and say: Look "Pocket PC in the center, and create a standard PIN connectors for attachment and let everything lose. GPC, camera, hardrive, audio system, video in/out, CDROM....

and quit making stupid gadgets like SPOT, Ipod, micro tablet... etc."

PPC still have this great hang up from the early day of little tablet computer/organizer syndrome. PPC is what modular portable computer is about! But without standard connector it will never go beyond souped up organizer. CF is dead end, SD is not going anywhere. BT is too brain dead. USB is not design for PDA. Decide on ONE type of high speed connector and run with. iPAQ connector seems like a good idea.

[Janak Parekh]

Bill G's heart is in Tablet PC. I am sure he secretly loaths the success PPC has had and thinks we are all mad for not using *his* Tablet PC's instead. :D
This is absolutely true, but the irony is that Tablet PC sales have tanked, manufacturers have been griping... and Pocket PCs have been doing just fine. :|

That said, I'd betcha Palm's CEO (and maybe their CTO) carries a Blackberry. I've set them up for customers, and while the PIM functions suck, RIM indeed has done corporate email very, very well. The irony there is that RIM is doing horribly as a company.

This is a very, very weird market. The one consolation I can offer is that I've dealt with a number of guys from Microsoft Research, and they're all carrying iPAQs, XDAs, and Smartphones. :)

--janak

[dacs29]

Umm..no offense intended William, but what planet do you live on? :lol: Linux, doing well? I don't know a single person (in real life, not online) that's using Linux for their desktop.
*Looks to college roommate's computer, sees Red Hat running...looks next door to suitemate's computer...definitely linux too...one door down...windows...alright...keeps going...Gentoo linux.*

Hmm...I think that there are lots of people using Linux. Then again, few of them use a PPC so they wouldn't frequent this site.

David

[AhuhX]

*Looks to college roommate's computer, sees Red Hat running...looks next door to suitemate's computer...definitely linux too...one door down...windows...alright...keeps going...Gentoo linux.*

Hmm...I think that there are lots of people using Linux. Then again, few of them use a PPC so they wouldn't frequent this site.

David

ROFL Now that is taking a good statistical sample...

Hey everyone. I would like to declare myself the most popular person in the world based upon the fact that everyone in my local vicinity knows me. It must also hold true outside of my small sample right! ;)

[MikeUnwired]

Maybe if there were a wireless keyboard enabled PPC that wasn't the size of a small paperback book (Hitachi G1000), this guy wouldn't need to use a BlackBerry. The HP 4350 is real new and it requires a phone or WiFi to make it play with the outside world.

Also, maybe if there were a Pocket PC that had a 10GB or larger hard drive built-in for $299, he'd be using it to listen to WMA files instead of iTunes' semi-crappy music. I can't drive my 5GB PCCard Drive with my HP 2215 through a CF adapter -- not enough power to the CF card slot. And, even if he did manage to outfit a Dell Axim X5 with the PC Card drive, the reaction time for pulling-up a playlist is much longer than that on an iPOD.

Sure, you can outfit some PPC products with some of these features, but none of them work as well as the two dedicated products mentioned at this point.

At least he's not using a Palm or Symbian device -- which would really overlap uncomfortably with Microsoft Mobile software driven tools.

[blackout]

not to break up yet another holy war, but i think you guys are the point of of david's statement. what he said was that he carries various devices that do one task very well. i don't see anyone giving him a hard time because he carries a digital camera instead of taking pictures with a pocket pc. why? because no pocket pc can match the quality or experience of taking a picture with a camera. even with an incredibly expensive high capacity storage, a pocket pc cannot match a dedicated hard drive music player like the ipod. they can't match the audio quality, the storage capacity or the single task interface, just like with the digital camera. even with AUTD in exchange Ti, and a 2003 phone edition device, you cannot match the size or again the single task simplicity (or the keyboard) of a blackberry. i know you all will say otherwise, of course you will if you are a pocket pc addict, but sometimes you have to admit that a single task device can complete that task better than any general purpose device tasked to do that same thing.

this is like a gmc commercial, right? do one thing, do it well. microsoft doesn't believe in single task devices, that's anti PC. they believe in doing everything as well as they can make it happen, but their good enough can't always be the best. especially if their are task specific devices in competition.

[SandersP]

because no pocket pc can match the quality or experience of taking a picture with a camera. even with an incredibly expensive high capacity storage, a pocket pc cannot match a dedicated hard drive music player like the ipod. they can't match the audio quality, the storage capacity or the single task interface, just like with the digital camera. even with AUTD in exchange Ti, and a 2003 phone edition device, you cannot match the size or again the single task simplicity (or the keyboard) of a blackberry

-Cellphone with lousy digicam is an attraction, and now those cheap digicam has reach 1-2MP, some even record video. Why would a cellphone need that? but yet it exist and the camera quality approaches those of mid range digicam.

-iPOD sounds pretty bad if you ask me, compared to CD player a tenth of its price. and why does it sell? convinient to carry load of music despite losuy sound quality? Why not turn PPC into an iPOD? surely a cheapy $199 PPC won't cost $499 after adding little HD. (again, iPOD sound quality isn't that much ahead of average iPAQ.)

[MikeUnwired]

[quote]-iPOD sounds pretty bad if you ask me, compared to CD player a tenth of its price. and why does it sell? convinient to carry load of music despite losuy sound quality? Why not turn PPC into an iPOD? surely a cheapy $199 PPC won't cost $499 after adding little HD. (again, iPOD sound quality isn't that much ahead of average iPAQ.)

The iPOD sounds crappy becuase the maximum bit rate is 128 kbps. CD quality is much higher than that. You can't choose a higher bit rate -- 128 is it. WMA files can be saved at 192 kbps, which takes up about 80% more room than the 128 version. With typical earbud or $20 headphones, it's not that big a deal, but on a Media Center system hooked-up to some nice Bose speakers or with high-end headphones, you can definitely tell the difference.

A 10GB iPOD can hold up to 2000 songs. My thing with that -- I don't have 200 songs I'd ever want to carry with me let alone 2000. But, there are folks out there that want to haul around the entire Pop / Rock section of their local Tower Records.

The big issue is that the PPC hardware is capable of all that these separate pieces do, but there isn't a piece of hardware that does the job as well without lots more investment and work. FYI, as if I needed to say this here, Palm is even worse. The Treo 600 comes really close to beating the BlackBerry -- and in my eyes, it does. But, there isn't a Palm music player with the type storage capacity of an iPOD unlike some PPCs with CF slots.

[AhuhX]

Hmmmm specialisation vs generalisation... This is an interesting discussion.

I actually go for both. It's all relative.

Eg:

I have switched from using a CD walkman to PPC because the PPC is just far more convenient. I don't care if it sounds inferior.

With photos I'll stick to my digicam because it gives results far superior to my crappy CF PPC camera. However I *love* the fact my phone now has a camera. Very convenient for when you are sitting down somewhere and see something cool and just want to record it.

I can't remember where I read it (I think it was Writing on Your Palm) but there was an interesting blurb about Personal Area Networks via BT etc. I think that is the ideal. Everything just chats with everything else and your PPC can add value as a sort of hub device.

[Phronetix]

I think the iPod and RIM devices signify simple and elegant solutions to peoples' needs. I love my iPaq, but it's not simple and gosh, it's about as elegant as teenage acne. It gets the job done and is fairly versatile, uses memory cards and handles large files better than my old palm os devices... and Pocket Informant rocks.

With the help of PocketMac, my 2215 even syncs well with my powerbook. OTOH, if someone could come up with a handheld device as well thought-out and easy to use as mac os X, i'd be there. I've even contemplated using a 12 inch ibook as a pda instead of my ipaq, b/c i feel very comfortable within my mac envirmonment managing my life, projects, music, continuing education items, web and email. The ibook would be a pretty tight squeeze in my rhinoskin, though, so i'm resisting. Still, if i only had to soft-reset every couple of months, like i restart my powerbook, that's be sweet.

I used to doubt my colleagues touting Mac's advantages. There's something to be said for elegant devices that just work. There's also something to learn from them, and if nobody from MS ever used or liked other hardware, then they might never learn what they're doing wrong, and keep doing wrong, and keep doing wrong.

Maybe, just maybe, that has been the issue all along. If all you eat is the same 'dog food' you make day in and day out, you never know what prime rib (or at least what kibbles and bits) tastes like... and never feel motivated to changing your own food, err products. I think I just killed this metaphor.

Phro

[cmlpreston]

I used to doubt my colleagues touting Mac's advantages. There's something to be said for elegant devices that just work. There's also something to learn from them, and if nobody from MS ever used or liked other hardware, then they might never learn what they're doing wrong, and keep doing wrong, and keep doing wrong.


I hear you. I think if *everyone* at M$ is only eating the M$ dog food, then they'll only ever know how bad they are. They''ll never know how good they could be.

I've recently been having the Mac vs. Wintel debate with work colleages. It's amazing how many people can't believe that there even *might* be something better out there!

cmlp

[Thomas Foolery]

I carry a blackberry.
I carry a camera.
I do *not* carry a blackberry phone. (dont like phone in my email, or peanut butter in my chocolate)

I (would) carry an iPOD (if my wife would buy me one).
I (would) carry a mpx200 (if it didnt cost 500 bucks unlocked)
I have a 36xx in the drawer.
I have a 3870 in the drawer.
I have dozens of 3950s in the drawer.
I have an Axim in the drawer.
I have a 2215 in the drawer.
And, a couple of toshs.

Draw your own conclusions.

[Andrew]

I have to say here that its good for a company to use its own products as well as promoting them, but I also think that they definitely need to be aware of what the competition is, and especially in a more 'hands-on' way than just checking out the latest marketing blurbs.

As far as one-device or multiple devices go, Im afraid at the moment Im in the multiple devices camp. I carry round with me my ipaq 5450, 40gb ipod, nokia 6310i, and mustek Gsmart 2.

The ipaq I have with me obviously for contacts, notes, calendar, emails, internet and so on. Plus being in IT I keep all my note on there, solutions to problems etc, so wherever I am I have it with me. Together with my mobile I can also connect via BT and GPRS to the internet and email.

I have a separate phone because so far I dont feel that the MDA measures up. Im sure MDA owners out there will disagree with me, but Im happy with my phone, and if it gets lost, or dropped etc its not such a big deal (on the other hand Im VERY careful with my ipaq).

The ipod I have because I like music, but I also use it as a HDD. Just as a side not, I have higher quality mp3s etc on it and have no problems, plus a number of audio books. You can also convert on the fly when transferring files from the pc to the ipod. Just having it around as a backup for my data and to carry around files I use often is useful though too. Without the audio software it connects to the pc just as a hard disk.

I think Im going to be a supporter of separate devices for a while too, I havent yet seen a one-device-does it all device that lives up to all of its promises, but who knows what the future will bring :)

[Ketsugi]

The iPOD sounds crappy becuase the maximum bit rate is 128 kbps. CD quality is much higher than that. You can't choose a higher bit rate -- 128 is it. WMA files can be saved at 192 kbps, which takes up about 80% more room than the 128 version. With typical earbud or $20 headphones, it's not that big a deal, but on a Media Center system hooked-up to some nice Bose speakers or with high-end headphones, you can definitely tell the difference.

A 10GB iPOD can hold up to 2000 songs. My thing with that -- I don't have 200 songs I'd ever want to carry with me let alone 2000. But, there are folks out there that want to haul around the entire Pop / Rock section of their local Tower Records.

I'd like to know where you got this little bit of misinformation from. The iPod itself doesn't encode music, it's just a portable music player with a hard disk. If you put a 128kbps mp3 on it, it's a 128kbps mp3. If you put a 320kbps mp3 on it, it's a 320kbps mp3. Maximum bitrate of 128kbps? That's utter nonsense. The mp3s I put on my iPod range from 112kbps to 320kbps, with a large number of VBR mp3s in there, and the iPod plays all of them without any glitches. Even if you're talking about music jukebox software used for ripping CDs, both MusicMatch JukeBox which ships with the iPod and iTunes now available for free download offer full up-to-320kbps mp3 ripping.

You may not have 200 songs you want to carry around with you, but I know I sure as hell do. I've already filled up my 20gb iPod with close to 5000 songs. Do I ever listen to all of them in one trip? Certainly not. But I love the freedom of being able to call up any track I want whenever I'm carrying my iPod. I love the freedom of letting my friends listen to a great song I happen to have, because it's always there in my iPod. I never have to say "oops, I forgot to bring that CD with me today". And I love being able to bring my iPod with me on holidays, together with the charger, and never have to worry about running out of music to listen to. It's great to be able to carry my music library with me and be able to switch playlists as my mood switches. There's a phrase I love to use when describing the music I listen to: "the soundtrack of my life". Now my life's soundtrack isn't limited to the one or two CDs/MDs I happen to be carrying with me at any given time.

The only thing I really want to see on my iPod now is support for more music formats, especially WMA, but we all know how likely it is that Microsoft's going to allow that to happen (or that Apple would want that to happen either).

[Ed Hansberry]

I have a 36xx in the drawer.
I have a 3870 in the drawer.
I have dozens of 3950s in the drawer.
I have an Axim in the drawer.
I have a 2215 in the drawer.
And, a couple of toshs.

Draw your own conclusions.
You are a fence? :lol:

[SassKwatch]

Bill G's heart is in Tablet PC. I am sure he secretly loaths the success PPC has had and thinks we are all mad for not using *his* Tablet PC's instead. :D
This is absolutely true, but the irony is that Tablet PC sales have tanked, manufacturers have been griping... and Pocket PCs have been doing just fine. :|
I've contended all along that the Tablet PC was an attempt on MS' part to create a market. There was no great clamoring from the masses for such a device. So, the fact that sales are tanking, doesn't surprise me in the least. TabletPC's are a niche product.

And the whole 3-4 yr that Billy G was attempting to convince the world that the Tablet would be 'the next big thing', people were buying pda's (be it Palm or PPC) left and right.

Even the most rabid anti-MS folks I know readily admit that, historically, MS has been a great marketing company. But it's situations like this that make me wonder. When a company gets so full of itself it thinks it can mfr a market for devices that offer only marginal iimprovements over existing solutions, but half-heartedly devotes resources to a market that people are already buying into in large numbers, one has to wonder where the 'vision' is.

[Don Sorcinelli]

I have a 36xx in the drawer.
I have a 3870 in the drawer.
I have dozens of 3950s in the drawer.
I have an Axim in the drawer.
I have a 2215 in the drawer.
And, a couple of toshs.

Draw your own conclusions.
You are a fence? :lol:

ROFL - I'll be laughing at this one for hours, Ed!

But serious, folks...

The part that gets me about all of this is "strictly business". Whether or not any executive of any major corporation uses their corporation's technology behind closed doors is their own business. However, showing up at a business function and representing your employer is entirely different.

You can argue that this whole thing is taken out of context, not truly indicative of a viewpoint, or anything else. The fact that someone let themself get set up for all of this really gets under my skin. Think about it - if you showed up at a conference or business meeting representing your company and did this, how do you think your employer would respond?

Geez - you don't have to love the technology, but at least represent it properly in public... :silly:

DonS

[thunderck]

I carry a blackberry.
I carry a camera.
I do *not* carry a blackberry phone. (dont like phone in my email, or peanut butter in my chocolate)

I (would) carry an iPOD (if my wife would buy me one).
I (would) carry a mpx200 (if it didnt cost 500 bucks unlocked)
I have a 36xx in the drawer.
I have a 3870 in the drawer.
I have dozens of 3950s in the drawer.
I have an Axim in the drawer.
I have a 2215 in the drawer.
And, a couple of toshs.

Draw your own conclusions.

This makes perfect sense, depending on your needs.... If you want a convergence device or in this case wireless e-mail via some flavor of CDMA (PCS GPRS EDGE WCDMA) you can get the G1000, XDA and others from PPC camp. What if you want a keyboard get the G1000. But where the rubber meets the road, it seems to me especially in corporations is the always ready "PUSH" technology that RIM pioneered. Now you can see companies like "GOOD”, and there is one other, offering the same thing on the PPC. The G1000 was the first implementation of this. Even though Sprints network is the fastest (!OVERALL!) of all US carriers they still don't have as much service area as say a Verizon Express Network where one can use the CDMA version of the Blackberry. What if you have all the "PUSH" technologies of the HP (better with handhelds than Hitachi) 4XXX series, with keyboard, and a CDMA or GPRS 'integrated' module that "GOOD" or the like company optimized, this would be a big step forward. In this way you would have all the function and more of a JAVA imbedded Blackberry device. I think within a year you will see this type of device. I think the Blackberry has shown that this "PUSH" technology is in high demand and is a killer app. Just look what RIM has done with a device that is inferior to the PPC in all other ways.

The problem with this "PUSH" technology is getting vendors to work together. I wrote a post at the bottom of this page POST (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=16089&highlight=)

I have to agree with previous post about Microsoft and there lack of innovation, i.e. small form HD's universal connectors (USB with drivers), options for manufacturers on screen size, and others. I put my 2215 in a RIM holster and it fits perfectly. The big external diff is that the blackberry screen is much smaller making room for a keyboard. With "GOOD" and this type of flexibility PPC makers could meet much more diversified need.

Bottom line I think more and more people will make the switch to PPC as RIM type functions come to the PPC with affordable network access. As for the other things on my wish list, I hope Microsoft get there butts in gear OR some other company eats their lunch. :mrgreen:

[Jonathan1]

I find it ironic that Microsoft is planning on releasing a Music store next year and you have people like the CTO using an iPod. Someone better tell this guy that the ipod and Apple are the enemy because he aparently missed the memo. ;)

Honestly. Who cares? No one should be forced to use their companies products. I mean for god sake I wonder how many employees have PS2s at home? If the CTO wants to use a Blackberry and iPod, and I don't blame him because they are sweet devices, then good for him. Microsoft is pervasive enough that at some point you won’t be able to use any type of tech without running into a Microsoft product. How far should their employees go to support the home team? God forbid someone likes something other then Microsoft. :? And to be fair if I had to make a choice between a Pocket PC and an iPod for music. I'd go with the iPod however Dell's Digital DJ looks solid. Just wish it had a biger HD.

[mmace]

I'd betcha Palm's CEO (and maybe their CTO) carries a Blackberry.

There's no such thing as a CEO of Palm any more, but I can tell you that PalmSource's CEO usually carries the latest handheld from one of our licensees, so he can try it out. I think he's packing a Treo 600 at the moment.

Mike
CCO, PalmSource Inc.

[Janak Parekh]

There's no such thing as a CEO of Palm any more, but I can tell you that PalmSource's CEO usually carries the latest handheld from one of our licensees, so he can try it out. I think he's packing a Treo 600 at the moment.
Yeah, I realized the error after posting. Thanks for the update.

--janak

[Janak Parekh]

-Cellphone with lousy digicam is an attraction, and now those cheap digicam has reach 1-2MP, some even record video. Why would a cellphone need that? but yet it exist and the camera quality approaches those of mid range digicam.
Because integration is a wonderful thing if it can be done without sacrifice, especially for your pockets' sake. I think Sony's idea with the NZ90 was a good one, but it was a little too early for its time.

-iPOD sounds pretty bad if you ask me, compared to CD player a tenth of its price. and why does it sell? convinient to carry load of music despite losuy sound quality? Why not turn PPC into an iPOD? surely a cheapy $199 PPC won't cost $499 after adding little HD. (again, iPOD sound quality isn't that much ahead of average iPAQ.)
Actually, the iPod gets superb marks for audio quality. It's supposed to be one of the better music players on the market. Mine has very good reproduction quality. As for PPC + HD &lt; iPod, I think you'd be surprised -- 40GB 2.5" disks aren't cheap, and the size of the resulting Pocket PC would be larger. I'd love to see one though. :)

--janak

[Janak Parekh]

You can't choose a higher bit rate -- 128 is it. WMA files can be saved at 192 kbps, which takes up about 80% more room than the 128 version.
Just to add to Ketsugi's point, both WMA, MP3, and most any other lossy codec (Ogg, AAC) can scale from low (48kbps) to high (320kbps; a few codecs may top out at a lower resolution). If I remember correctly, listening tests do indicate that the vast majority of people can't hear a difference above 256Kbps, even for MP3.

A 10GB iPOD can hold up to 2000 songs. My thing with that -- I don't have 200 songs I'd ever want to carry with me let alone 2000.
Really? How many CDs do you own? Maybe your commute is shorter than mine, but I own several hundred CDs. Being able to carry all of them in my pocket is worthwhile. I'd love it if I had a Pocket PC version, although the engineering needed to do that and keep the device pocketable is, as you point out, challenging, cost notwithstanding.

--janak

[Perry Reed]

I think this shows something that's been somewhat obvious for awhile now; that Microsoft is not making a big priority of the Pocket PC. Yeah, they're committed to Windows CE, but not so much specifically to Pocket PC. Instead, I think their focus is more on SmartPhone and the Tablet PC. And, as much as I love my Pocket PC, I'm not sure this is a bad thing. My "dream combo" for mobile devices would probably be a SmartPhone with unlimited data access from my provider, and a small, sub-notebook sized Tablet.

That doesn't mean they're likely to dump Pocket PC anytime soon, of course! It still sells very well and SmartPhone and Tablet PCs just don't have anywhere near the same numbers... yet. But long term, I would not at all be surprised to see Pocket PC fade away in favor of the other platforms/form factors.

[griph]

iPOD sounds pretty bad if you ask me, compared to CD player a tenth of its price. and why does it sell? convinient to carry load of music despite losuy sound quality? Why not turn PPC into an iPOD? surely a cheapy $199 PPC won't cost $499 after adding little HD. (again, iPOD sound quality isn't that much ahead of average iPAQ.)
I have to disagree on the memory issue. Sure (AS I DO) you can put a microdrive in a PocketPC (or a PC Card if you have a jacket) but nothing pocketable within reasonable cost can match the 15 or 30 gigabyte memory of the iPod. I like the convenience of the PocketPC - but with an ipod I could carry my whole music collection (+4000 tracks) whereas with my 2210 + microdrive + 256mb SD I am limited to about 350 mp3 tracks (perhaps 1000 WMA tracks), and 1 need to copy across fairly regularly changes to the available music.

Digital Camera wise - PocketPC/Phone based camera are only going to be snap/fun use - the quality is not there yet - my Fuji Finepix 4900 - getting old now allows 3 mega pixel, OPTICAL zoom and ability to save TIFF uncompressed images. The image quality is never just a function of number of pixels but also the method of compression used - the more the compression the more 'artefacts' that are present. From what I have seen dedicated digital cameras provide (and are likely to continue to provide) better quality images than a PPC/Mob Phone can ever do.

Let’s keep a sense of proportion. It is the old 'Jack of All Trades, Master of None' issue. A dedicated device is probably likely to do the better job. This does not detract from my feelings toward my iPaq when I admit this. It does a good job.

[Scott R]

I think it's a good idea for the people in these companies to use the competition's products. That way they can see what works so well about something and implement it (or, better yet, improve upon it) in their own products. MS' problem is that they carry the competition's products, but seem to forget that they have their own product that would benefit from some of these improvements.

My new HP iPaq h4155 is a wonderful piece of technology, thanks mainly to HP. The underlying OS/GUI isn't much different than PPC 2000 which, to me, isn't a particularly good thing.

Scott

[tthiel]

Linux is making huge inroads into the corporate world and has displaced millions of Microsoft servers as a result. It is only a matter of time before it appears on corporate desktops as well and has in many other countries. Linux is also very big in embedded computing. Your comments indicate ignorance about the corporate world which determines direction of servers and then desktops as well as handhelds. So what if you don't know anyone who uses Linux. I would say you live in a very sheltered world computer and IT-wise so your comments are not relevant. As a Corporate IT professional at a pretty high level with 15 years experience it is a pretty funny joke that Microsoft "eats its own dogfood". I have spent years with Microsoft products that flat out don't work, are unreliable, are poorly supported, and are often discontinued at Microsofts whim.

Time to prepare to switch to a Linux device- they always eat their own dog food and swear their career/glory with it :P no wonder Linux is doing better.

Be serious, uptill now Windows Mobile device's quality are far too fragile in terms of software implementation, lets accept the truth- out of the box Palm is doing far way better on a reliable PDA.

Umm..no offense intended William, but what planet do you live on? :lol: Linux, doing well? I don't know a single person (in real life, not online) that's using Linux for their desktop. It's going to overtake Apple and become the #2 consumer OS, but that's not saying much, is it?

And regarding Palm, I'd certainly contend the statement that the Palm is a more functional PDA out of the box. I'd argue that the Pocket PC is a much better match for an Exchange-based company like Microsoft.